Evaporating-pan



No. 6|3,s92. 'Patentedmvg 8, |398. w. E. sHoALEs.

EvAPnnA'rma PAN.

(Application Bled Oct. 7V 189 (Nu M oooo ,l *,I, ,u E W in .l Mimimanmwmumnum unmnnw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. SIIOALES, OF PLYMOUTH, NEW YORK.

EVAPORATlNG-PAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 6I3,892, dated November 8, 1898. Application led October '7, 1897. Serial No. 654,429. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. SHoALEs,

residing at Plymouth, in the county of Ohenango and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Automatic Draw-Off for Evaporators, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to evaporating-pans in general, and while the devices comprised in my invention are adapted especially to that class of evaporating-pans used in the manufacture of maple-syrup from sap they are capable of use with any and all syrupevaporators.

The object of my invention is to provide evaporating-pans With improved devices for drawing off the syrup as fast as made, which drawing-oif devices shall be automatic in their actions, being operated by the syrup itself, whereby the syrup cannot remain long enough in the pans to be burned or to cause damage to the evaporator, and when the supply of sap is kept up Will operate continuously Without attention.

My invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and afterward specifically pointed out in the claim.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention most nearly appertains to make and usev the same, I Will noW proceed to describe its construction and operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication, in Which Y Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating my improvements applied to a set of evaporating-pans such as are in common use in evaporating maple-sap. Fig. 2 is a detail longitudinal sectional view illustrating the draw-off apparatus. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a part of the evaporating apparatus with my draw-off devices connected thereto.

Like letters of reference mark the Vsame parts Wherever they occur in the different figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings by letters, A is the furnace, B the boiler, and C C C' the line of evaporating-pans connected With the boiler and with each other by means of metal clamps D and Siphon-tubes E, the pans being supported upon the smoke-Hue F of the boiler between the furnace and the smoke-stack G, the flue being mounted on suitable legs or supports I-I.

I is a tank or pan attached to and communicating with the evaporating-pans by means of short pipes I I2, which project from the pans at the bottom andv enter through the side of pan I. A nipple J is secured to the bottom of pan I at an opening therein, said opening acting as a seat for a lift-valve of any desired construction, a ball-valve K bea ing here shown. The ball K is suspended by a rod L from a lever M, pivoted at N and carrying at its outer end a float O.

At the top of the pan I is pivoted a gradu= ated bar P, on which is arranged a slidable Weight Q, said bar being connected to the float O by a rod R, pivoted at its upper end to the graduated barand at its lower end to the Iioat,the graduated bar proj ectin gthrou gh a slot S in the end of the pan I.

T are channelsin the two inner corners of the pan I, extending from the top to near the bottom thereof and communicating with the evaporating-pans by means of the two outside tubes I2 before mentioned.

On filling the evaporator with sap the tank I will also be filled with it, and syrup being produced in the pan Oof the series of evaporating-pans, it being of a greater specific gravity than the sap, Will flow through the openings into and through the channels T into and to the bottom of tank I. As it gradually enters and falls to the bottom of the tank, it causes the sap to flow back through I' into the evaporating-pans until it rises high enough to lift the Iioat and ball, and thus discharges the syrup through the valve and nipple into any receptacle placed to receive it. As soon as enough syrup passes out to allow the ioat to drop again the ball Will close the valve and stop the outflow.

The operation of the device is entirely automatic and the user is relieved of any necessity of watching it. With it the syrup is, so

to speak, weighed, as it will automatically discharge itself as soon as its specific gravity is great enough to raise the valve and not before.

A proper storage receptacle having been provided, with regulated means for dischargtoo ing the sap therefrom into the evaporators, the machine will only need to be fired up. All other necessary acts are automatically performed, and the machine Will Work along night and day While re and sap are supplied, a syrup of any desired gravity or color being regularly and continuously discharged.

All possible danger of burning the syrup or the pans is done away With and the necessity of dipping out the syrup byhand is obviated. The regulating-Weight of itself tests the syrup, and it must come up to the standard set by the Weight on the graduatedbar before it can raise the float and be discharged.

Having thus fully described myinvention, 

